 When the time comes and you’re about to make the long-awaited move to a new home, you’ll often feel a mixture of emotions. The overwhelming emotion is that of extreme excitement at the prospect of memory-making and all of the opportunities that await you. Sure, you’re about to leave what was probably a lovely and cozy place that you made your own, but the future has a lot in store for you. Another feeling that’ll run through you is that of worry and stress. It’s not uncommon – if you’re relaxed throughout the entire time, then you’re in a tiny minority and we all wish we were like you. It’s a long process with a lot of effort and a lot of information to take on, so it’s understandable if things can get a little overwhelming. There are always things you can do to remedy a stressful move – let’s take a look at some. Plan Ahead Like with a lot of things, planning out what you’re going to be doing will save a lot of stress. Sure, it may be quite a tedious and maybe evening a stressful thought having to organize everything, but it will be worth it when moving day comes. If you have set times for certain jobs or have gathered people to help you out, then you’ll be way better prepared for it all. Hire Movers If it’s a little too much for you guys to handle, then you could do a lot worse than bringing in professionals who know exactly what they’re doing. Get in touch with a moving company and see how they can ease the burden a little. Get Everything Packed Yes, you’ll eventually have everything packed (hopefully) before you have to move out of the place you’re currently in, but why make it a stressful situation by holding off on the job and making it a last minute thing. You’ll have items that are needed until the final day, but as for the stuff you haven’t touched in months? Get them stored away. If you have nowhere to put some of your stuff, then you could use storage companies, like Now Storage, to keep them locked away safely until you need them again. It’s a wise thing to do if you have fairly large items and nobody you know is willing or able to hold them for you! Hire Cleaners With everything you have going on, you’ll be forgiven if you’ve not kept the home up to scratch in terms of its cleanliness and beauty. The home does need to be swept and kept hygienic, however – you don’t want to be in a sty! Perhaps hiring cleaners to come in and help you out could ease your mind. They could look after your current home and also do a little work on the new place! Pack Snacks As we said, it’s a long process and, at times, the day itself can feel like it’s going on forever. You may not have the luxury of making food for yourself at this time, so make meals and snacks for you to chow down on during the day – you don’t want to be starving as it may stress you out even more.  *collaborative post*
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 We all love the homes we are in. It doesn’t matter how big or how small it is – it’s ours. We move in and immediately begin plans on personalizing and enhancing it to reflect our individual characters. Whilst the process was difficult at first and it can be a bit of a stressful at times, owning your own place is generally a great feeling.
Amidst the fun, creativity and the freedom of having your own place, you still have the responsibility to take care of. You obviously have to keep the place nice and tidy as well as making sure it’s hazard-free and functioning smoothly. Regarding the tidiness, something that pretty much everyone has to deal with at one time or another is a pile-up of clutter. When things are left in a corner or left stocked in a room, it can be bad for your peace of mind as well as the home’s practicality. Let’s take a little look at a few ways to sort out any clutter you may have lying around. Have A Big Clearout We’ll start with the most obvious idea of the lot: just get rid of whatever it is that lying around and bringing the place down. Naturally, you’re going to have reservations about doing a big clearout as it takes a lot of work and you may feel like there are things in the clutter pile that shouldn’t be removed just yet! But you should make some time for it soon because it’ll all be worth it when it’s done and you have all that neat and tidy space! Go Room To Room When you do your big clearout, the best way to go about it is to clear one room at a time. It’s another fairly obvious point, but some people will just hop in and out of each room as they please. Doing it in an organized manner will mean you won’t be too overwhelmed by the job at hand and you won’t make a mess of the situation – pardon the pun. Donate To Charity There are people out there that are less fortunate than you. If you ever look at the stuff you have around and can’t be bothered to throw it away, just think about those who may need it – that should give you the motivation to declutter. Put Pieces In Storage If you have things that you feel you need to keep but don’t need right now and are taking up too much room, then you can always head on down to your local storage facility and acquire a space to put them in. They can be kept under lock and key for a few bucks, and you can collect them whenever you want. Get More Storage If you’ve got items stuffed into the corner of a room or anything like that, then perhaps you should invest in some other forms of storage that you can use at home. We’re talking shelves, wardrobes or a chest of drawers. Organize Everything Better Finally, when things are looking a little better, trying to solve the problem at the source! Stop it from happening again by keeping things organized – it may take a little time and effort to come up with a plan like this, but it will be worth it in the long run.  Does running a family home need to be expensive? Well, to a certain degree it does. You likely want the best for your children, for your spouse, and for your combined futures. You likely want to live in a stable environment and ensure everyone has what they need, even if you have to forgo the luxuries from time to time. But does running a home need to be SO expensive? It depends on what that means for you. Odds are you wouldn’t be asking the question if you weren’t in someway questioning just why you always feel like you’re paying bills, or that certain bills are ripping you off in some way. For that reason, taking a mindful approach to the bills in your home is just normal and good personal financial sense. Is there any improvement to be made? Or are you stuck with this setup forever? Of course, it all depends on what you hope to achieve, and what living standard is expected. But even if you earn plenty, we think we can help you save a few coppers. Let’s see how: Insulation Is Always King While you might not be one to count pennies and lament over spending a little more, wasting money is nonsensical. To that extent, it’s important to consider the elements of your home which, if left unattended, might contribute to said wasted money. We’d suggest that heating can contribute to this, particularly if the housing of your home isn’t as good as it should be. From cracked open windows in cold weather, shoddy roofing felt, issues with the foam insulation in your walls, a basement crawlspace letting all the air out, or perhaps simply an ineffective heater that should be replaced with thermal integration, insulation is always king. Try and inspect your home and see where changes could be made. The savings here might just stun you. Teaching Care Children break things. It can’t be helped. It’s just part of their playful nature. So long as it’s accidental and not malicious, there’s not much you can do. But you can prepare them to understand the worth of something. You can teach them the valuable importance of something you adore, or perhaps what the worth of something is compared to a relevant factor they can understand. You can teach them to take care of their clothing, of their bicycle, and of their bedrooms. Teach them the value of an item, not just replacing it, but teaching them how to repair it. This way you raise your family with a savers mindset, even if you can go ahead and replace certain issues. This not only trains them for life more appropriately, but can save you money. Savings There’s no shame using coupons, or opting for sales now and then. Perhaps your butcher has a good promotion on, where you can gain five chicken breasts for free if you purchase a certain pack of goods. Perhaps you’ve been given a voucher for a Disneyland, and you wish to bring your planned vacation forward. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to save money, and tailoring your life to suit that. This way, more value can be yours. With this advice, running a family home needn’t be so expensive.  *collaborative post*
 Working from home sounds like the ideal scenario for many people. Sure, if you are working an office job with early commutes day in and day out, the idea of just rolling out your bed well rested straight into your job does sound fantastic. Add to that the ability to wear your most comfortable clothes and the idea that when it's closing time, you simply close your laptop and you're home. Working from home means the ability to fit your work around your life, right? People who work from home, or have attempted this, know this perfect scenario is far from reality. With all the drawbacks of going into an office, there are also perks. The main one would be routine and the external motivation to be productive. Having colleagues around and the ability to have grown up conversations help as well. That does not mean however that working from home isn't as effective as going into an office. It just means there are specific rules and routines that you need to stick to. Here are a few top tips to help you make working from home as effective as it can be. Routine and structure are crucial. As you have a routine when commuting to work, have a routine and schedule to working from home as well. Structure your day as usual, with breaks and all, and stick to it. Don't squander your working from home perks by staying in bed if you can, instead use the time you would be travelling as an early start to the day. Get stuff out the way early on so you can finish earlier as well. A routine such as a shower, getting into a suitable attire which is not your sleeping outfit helps as well. In the same vein as changing your clothes, also make sure you have a dedicated space to work in. Ideally, that would be a home office with decent lighting and space to do your work in. Of course, you will need a reliable internet connection, such as provided by Pure Telecom. If you don't have the luxury of a separate office space, consider working at the kitchen table. Make sure you clear the table first to have the room, but also the headspace to focus on what you need to do. And while you are focusing, try not to be distracted too much by social media. Nothing is worse than being caught up in something that pops up on your feed and going down a rabbit hole. Put the phone away and turn the social media notifications off and put on some music to help you concentrate. For some being at home might not be the best scenario. Perhaps going to a coffee shop with Wi-Fi could be the solution. Having a nice cup of coffee, a cinnamon swirl and some focus time could do wonders for productivity. Working from home is not as easy as it sounds. It requires discipline and experience to do well. But once you master the art of working from home, you will never want to look back.   Sometimes it can feel like your home is the place that you’re trying to escape from. Everything is everywhere, you’ve got little bits that need doing, there always seems to be people coming round… the list could go on. So although it might feel like you’re going home to relax, you might not ever actually relax whilst you’re there. But your home should be your escape that you’re looking for. It should be this place that you can go home and be fully happy in, but we all know that reality will tell us different. So this article is going to be all about helping you to find your zen whilst in your home. There are ways that you can slow your home life down, and turn it into a place of true relaxation. Somewhere where you know you can come home to relax, do nothing, and not feel like your mind is racing at a million miles an hour, thinking of all of the things you should be doing. So, keep on reading, and see if this article can change your whole life around! Make A Place To Call Your Own If you feel like the stress is just building and building in your life, it might be because you just don’t have a space to call your own. You need somewhere in your life that you can go to, and totally just get away from everything. So one thing you might like to consider, and something that a lot of homes have at the minute, is an edwardian conservatory. This is such a classic addition to a home, and not only does it add value, it gives you that vital space you desperately need in your home. The construction if it might take a few weeks, but the benefits of this are going to be massive. You can then truly make this space into your own, putting whatever furniture or accessories you want in there. You should think about things like indoor plants, himalayan salt lamps, and other cool things to get that relaxing vibe that you need! Leave Drama At The Door So this is something that most of us are bad at. When you have a stressful day, that stress carries on into your personal home life, and all you can do is rage around the home. Once your rant about the day is over, you turn to the home and the people in it to switch on. So then this creates arguments on top of arguments that you just don’t need. So as much as possible, try and let your home be that clean start that you need. It’s fine to get your rants out of the way, but that should be that. You should relax into home life, and enjoy the peaceful time that you could have! Finding New Things To Do If you’re bored around the home, which you just might be, then you need to think about new things to do, that will allow you to find an escape in your home. Maybe you could take up reading, painting, crafts etc. Just anything that’s going to give you something to do, and time to relax.  *collaborative post*
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